South African family visits U.S., Gadsden

Sunday

Jan 26, 2014 at 9:23 PMJan 26, 2014 at 9:58 PM

The temperature was bone chilling for Jo King as she stood by the fireplace to warm. After all, it is summer in her country of South Africa. Even by Alabama standards, temperatures are much colder than usual and much colder than a typical winter in her country.

BY LISA ROGERS SAVAGETimes Staff Writer

The temperature was bone chilling for Jo King as she stood by the fireplace to warm. After all, it is summer in her country of South Africa. Even by Alabama standards, temperatures are much colder than usual and much colder than a typical winter in her country.Jo and her husband, Ashley King, and their 22-year-old daughter, Sam, and 20-year-old son, Greg, are visiting in the United States for several days and spent a few days with friends Frank and Jane Brown of Gadsden.The families met almost five years ago when Frank and his sons went to South Africa on a hunting safari. There, Ashley worked as the guide — something he has done for 24 years.Frank loved it so much, he went back the next summer and took Jane with him. Now she has gone twice.“We just clicked,” Jo said. “We’ve kept in touch.”Since their first meeting, Ashley and Jo have started their own hunting business.It’s not unusual for Ashley and Jo to build friendships with clients, but these families have become closer than most, Ashley said.The Kings left their home in Tarkastad, Eastern Cape of South Africa, and arrived in Atlanta Wednesday morning after a 16-hour flight.The cold temperatures have been an adjustment. When they left home, temperatures were in the 70s and 80s.Jo once was a teacher, but now helps her husband with the business, Braeside Safaris. Sam has graduated from a university and is continuing her education with an emphasis on remedial studies, to specialize in teaching autistic students.Greg was out of school for a year and now plans to attend “uni,” just one of many distinctive South African phrases. He plans to study business management and come back to help his father run the business, He already is certified as a professional hunter and can work as a guide. The certification is a requirement in South Africa.The hunting is a lot different there. There are many small species to go along with what is known as the Big Five — lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and rhinos.News about a guide in the U.S. who won a rhino hunt, which caused a public outcry, reached the Kings in South Africa. It’s not illegal to kill a rhino, Ashley said, but it is quite expensive. The required permits cost a lot of money, so it is much more common for hunters to shoot the rhinos with a dart loaded with tranquilizer.“You have to be very careful,” Jo said.The use of the tranquilizer and the medication to reverse the sedative are supervised by a veterinarian who accompanies the hunting team.The Kings’ area of South Africa is known for the Vaal Rehbuck, impala, red hartebeest and red lechwe, all of which are horned animals that do not shed each year.The Browns hoped to return the hospitality the Kings had shown them, and asked them to visit and hunt while they’re here.Ashley and Greg hunted this week for quail and deer. The quail hunt was at Brown’s farm near Ohatchee, and they hunted for deer near Ragland.“It’s very different than at home,” Ashley said. “We don’t have deer. The animals we have do not shed their horns.”The Kings live in such a rural area that the women don’t often get a chance to shop in big-city stores that offer variety. So, Jane and some friends took them to Birmingham.Conversation with the Kings, who speak English but with different phrasing, can be interesting.Jo’s story of playing an electric organ in an old church without electricity near their home paints the picture of some stark differences and the rural setting in which they live. She has to hang an extension cord through the window at the church, which was built in the 1800s, and plug it in to the battery on her bakkie, similar to a pickup in the U.S., to power the organ.However, Jo said they find solace in the rural, isolated area. “It’s pristine, just tranquil beauty,” she said. The food prepared in South Africa is different, Frank said, but very good. “We averaged gaining 10 pounds when we went,” he said.On Jane’s first trip, she killed a wildebeest. At that time, she had never hunted, and she was nervous at first.She watched the animal through her scope and backed out of shooting the first time. Ashley was her guide, and he told her they could just follow the animals for a while.The longer they followed, the more enthusiastic Jane was, and she eventually got a shot and took it.“After that, I was hooked,” she said.The Browns already are planning another trip. “When you leave Africa, you’re always planning your next trip,” he said.Jo said they have enjoyed the visit to this area for many reasons.“It is beautiful here, but it is completely different than where we live,” she said. They left Etowah County to visit friends in Dallas, then plan to be in Las Vegas Feb. 5-8 for the Safari Club International convention. The event gives them an opportunity to tell more about their services, something they take great pride in, Ashley said.Their lodge is surrounded by mountains and along a river, which gives an even bigger feeling of remoteness and tranquility, he said. The name, Braeside, means “a hillside along the river.”For more information, visit www.braesidesafaris.com.za.

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